Next Game
Creighton (22-6) steps out of Missouri Valley Conference play for a nationally-televised Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters game at Saint Mary’s (22-5 as of 2/20).
Tip-off at McKeon Pavilion (3,500) in Moraga, Calif., on Saturday is scheduled for 5:06 pm Central (3:06 pm Pacific).

Radio Broadcast Information
KXSP (“AM 590 - Omaha’s ESPN Radio”) will broadcast all Creighton men’s basketball games, including Saturday. T. Scott Marr and Nick Bahe will call the action. The audio is also webcast live at www.AM590espnradio.com.

Live Stats Information
All of Creighton’s games this season will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the top of the page for a link the exact URL.
Home games can also be followed by those who have mobile devices with internet capability at www.gocreightonstats.com.

Scouting Creighton
Creighton is 22-6 this season, and trail Wichita State by one game in the MVC standings with two league games to go.
The Jays started the season impressively with an 11-1 record in pre-conference play. The start includes victories over NCAA hopefuls Wisconsin, Akron, Cal and Arizona State, as well as triumphs over league favorites from the Atlantic-10 (Saint Joseph’s) and Sun Belt (North Texas).
After being named First Team All-American a year ago, junior forward Doug McDermott (22.5 ppg., 7.8 rpg.) has lived up to extensive preseason hype and was named the Midseason National Player of the Year by Dick Vitale, Seth Davis, Mike DeCourcy and Andy Katz (among others). McDermott has been named MVC Player of the Week seven times this year and is 51-for-99 from three-point range in the past 22 games. Last Saturday, he became the first junior in MVC history to surpass 2,000 career points.
Second on the team in scoring is senior center Gregory Echenique (9.5 ppg., 6.7 rpg., 1.5 bpg.). Echenique has led the MVC in blocked shots each of the past two years.
Creighton also boasts a veteran backcourt consisting of Grant Gibbs (8.8 ppg., 5.7 apg., 4.2 rpg.), Austin Chatman (7.8 ppg., 4.3 apg.) and Jahenns Manigat (5.9 ppg.). Gibbs and Chatman rank first and third in the MVC in assists, while Manigat led The Valley in league play in three-point percentage a year ago.
Creighton’s bench is led by sharpshooter Ethan Wragge (7.9 ppg.), who is third in the MVC with 63 three-pointers made and has drilled six three-pointers in a game on three occasions this season.
Creighton leads the nation in three-point percentage (.426), is second in field goal percentage (.508), third in three-pointers per game (9.0), fourth in assists per game (17.3), sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.41) and points (2,129), while also outrebounding foes by 4.9 caroms a game. CU scores 76.0 points per game.

Scouting Saint Mary’s
Saint Mary’s entered Thursday’s home game vs. BYU with a 22-5 record on the season, including a 13-1 mark at McKeon Pavilion. The Gaels’ nine-game win streak was snapped on Feb. 14 with a 77-60 loss vs. league rival Gonzaga.
Olympian Matthew Dellavedova leads Saint Mary’s with 15.8 points and 6.4 assists per game while also leading the club with 66 three-pointers, 97 free throws and 32 steals.
Also in double-figures for SMC are Stephen Holt (11.9 ppg., 5.4 rpg.) and Beau Levesque (10.7 ppg., 4.4 rpg.)
Saint Mary’s averages 76.5 points per game while allowing 63.9 per contest. The Gaels shoot 48.9 percent from the field, including 39.0 percent from three-point land, and also convert 71.2 percent of its free-throw attempts.

The CoachesGreg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) is in his third season as head coach at Creighton. He led CU to a 29-6 mark last year, and is now 74-28 with the Bluejays. McDermott has previously been a head coach at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State (1994-2000). He owns a career mark of 354-222 in 19 seasons and is 223-159 in 12 Division I campaigns. McDermott is assisted by Darian DeVries, Steve Lutz and Steve Merfeld.
Randy Bennett (UC San Diego, 1986) is in his 12th year at Saint Mary’s, where he owned a 257-123 record prior to Thursday’s agme vs. BYU. He has guided SMC to six postseasons (four NCAA’s, two NIT’s) and five straight 25-win seasons. Bennett is assisted by Rick Croy, Eran Ganot and Adam Caporn.

The Series With Saint Mary’s
Creighton and Saint Mary’s have split four previous meetings, though the teams have not met since 1979 (a 79-73 CU win in Omaha).Greg McDermott has never faced Randy Bennett or Saint Mary’s, and Bennett has never faced Creighton.
Creighton’s series history vs. Saint Mary’s can be found on page 11 of these notes.

Last Game Recap
Creighton started the game with a 12-2 run and never trailed in a 59-45 win over Southern Illinois on Tuesday. Will Artino tied a career-high with 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting off the bench to help fend off a pesky Saluki team. CU held SIU to 35.3 percent shooting on the night.

What To Watch For
A few facts and figures to keep an eye on during Saturday’s game.
-Gregory Echenique owns 249 career blocked shots (155 at Creighton), and is one shy of 250.
-Creighton plays its first game on ESPN since a 2009 home game vs. Kentucky. Creighton is 8-1 in its last nine appearances on ESPN.
-Greg McDermott seeks to improve to 10-1 all-time in BracketBuster-related games.
-Creighton seeks to improve to 9-4 away from home this season, and 24-8 away from home in the past two years.
McDermott’s BracketBusters SuccessGreg McDermott is 9-1 in his career in games associated with the BracketBuster series. McDermott is 5-1 in the original BracketBuster game, and is a perfect 4-0 in the return trips.
McDermott in BracketBuster Games
2003 UNI 76, @Louisiana Tech 71 -- (TV) (@UNI)
2004 UNI 82, @Wis.-Green Bay 75 (@UNI)
2005 @UNI 86, W. Michigan 75 -- (TV) (@UNI)
2006 @UNI 65, Bucknell 61 (2OT) -- (TV) (@UNI)
2011 @Akron 76, Creighton 67 (@CU)
2012 @Creighton 81, Long Beach St. 79 (TV) (@CU)

BracketBuster Trivia
Did you know that Creighton played in the first game in BracketBusters history?
Led by Kyle Korver, the Jays defeated Fresno State 67-66 on Feb. 22, 2003, in an 11 am game on the inaugural weekend then known as Bracket Buster Saturday. The game aired on ESPN2 and was announced by Terry Gannon, Jay Bilas and Andy Katz.

More BracketBuster Tidbits
Creighton is 3-0 all-time against teams from California in the BracketBusters event. The Jays defeated Fresno State in 2003 and 2006, then downed Long Beach State last March.

Busting the Brackets
The Missouri Valley Conference is 25-18 in the televised portion of the Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters series -- better than any other league. The MVC is also 29-21 in non-televised games.
Leagues (TV only) All Home Road
Missouri Valley 25-18 15-8 10-10
Colonial Athletic 19-10 8-4 11-6
Western Athletic 18-17 12-7 6-10
Mid-American 14-20 11-7 3-13
Horizon League 11-13 7-6 4-7

BracketBusters Teams Busting Brackets
Now in its 11th year, the BracketBusters series has produced a pair of teams that later made it to the Final Four (VCU in 2011 and George Mason in 2006).
In fact, each of the first 10 years of the BracketBusters event has had 10 or more eventual NCAA Tournament qualifiers. Those teams have combined to win 69 NCAA games, including six victories last year.
However, it’s also worth noting that the only team since 2008 to lose its televised BracketBusters game and receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament was Saint Mary’s in 2008. The Gaels lost to Kent State but would go on to earn a 10 seed.

Bay Area Standouts at Creighton
Ask any long-time Creighton fan who the best players in program history are, and two players from the Bay Area are likely to be mentioned in short order.
Oakland’s Paul Silas attended McClymonds High School and still owns the Creighton record with 1,751 career rebounds and ranks ninth with 1,661 points. He is one of five men in NCAA history to average at least 20 points and 20 rebounds for a college career, joining Bill Russell, Artis Gilmore, Julius Erving and Kermit Washington.
San Francisco’s Bob Portman attended St. Ignatius College Prep and still owns the Creighton record for points in a game (51) and career scoring average (24.7). He ranks fifth with 1,876 career points and fourth with 979 career rebounds.
Silas was enshrined in the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame this past March, while Portman will be enshired next month.

California Dreaming
Creighton has won its last five men’s basketball games against teams from the state of California, including road wins at California (Dec. 2012) and at San Diego State (Nov. 2011) in addition to a neutral-site win over a Paul George-led Fresno State team (Dec. 2008).
The men’s basketball team isn’t the only squad with success against clubs from California. Creighton’s nationally-renowned men’s soccer program is 15-0-3 in its last 18 games vs. California-based schools since October, 2003.

McDermott/Bennett Connection
Creighton junior Doug McDermott was coached by Saint Mary’s Randy Bennett in the summer of 2011 when both men were part of the Team USA U19 National Team that competed in the FIBA U19 World Championships in Riga, Latvia.
McDermott started all nine games for Team USA, which went 7-2 and earned wins over gold medalist Lithuania and silver medalist Serbia. He was the third-leading scorer (11.3 pg.) and rebounder (6.1 rpg.) while leading the team with 13 three-pointers made.
Other prominent names on that roster were Jahii Carson (Arizona State), Jeremy Lamb (Connecticut), Joe Jackson (Memphis), Keith Appling (Michigan State), Patric Young (Florida), Tim Hardaway Jr. (Michigan), Meyers Leonard (Illinois) and Tony Mitchell (North Texas). Paul Hewitt was the head coach.

BracketBuster Record A Year Ago
Creighton’s Doug McDermott scored 36 points in last year’s win vs. Long Beach State. The 36 points is the most ever in a televised BracketBusters game.

Former Jay, Former Gael
Recent graduate Kenton Walker played at Creighton (2007-09) before transferring to Saint Mary’s and playing his final three years (a redshirt season, plus two years on the court) with the Gaels.
Walker had 239 points and 194 rebounds in 64 games with Creighton, and 335 points and 224 rebounds in 67 points at Saint Mary’s.
Walker’s career ended last March back where it began, when Saint Mary’s lost to Purdue at Creighton’s home venue, CenturyLink Center Omaha, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Gibbs Knows The Gaels
Creighton senior Grant Gibbs spent the first two years (2008-10) of his college career at Gonzaga, where his teams faced Saint Mary’s six different times.
Gonzaga won all three meetings in 2008-09, including a 72-70 victory in Moraga, during Gibbs’ redshirt season.
In 2009-10, Gibbs’ Gonzaga team won both regular-season meetings (including 89-82 in Moraga) before the Gaels knocked off the Bulldogs at the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas.
Gibbs appeared in two of the 2009-10 meetings, dishing one assist in 13 overall minutes.

Dishing DimesGrant Gibbs leads the MVC with 159 assists this season, a figure that ranks tied for eighth in CU single-season history. Last year he led the MVC with 176 assists, fifth-most in program history.
With four assists on Saturday, Gibbs can become first Bluejay with multiple seasons of 164 assists or more.

Bright Lights, Big Wins
Creighton is 38-19 in its last 57 games on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU, and will be making its seventh appearance of the year on a World Wide Leader network on Saturday at Saint Mary’s.
In these 57 ESPN-affiliated appearances, Creighton is 35-11 when scoring 62 points or more, but just 3-8 when scoring 61 points or less.Doug McDermott is averaging 25.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in six appearances on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU this season.
Below is CU’s recent results on the ESPN family of networks.
Network Home Road Neutral Total
ESPN 2-1 2-0 4-0 8-1
ESPN2 9-4 5-7 2-1 16-12
ESPNU 9-0 4-4 1-2 14-6
Total 20-5 11-11 7-3 38-19

ESPN Returns To Cover The Jays
Creighton has had 101 games on television in the last four seasons, including 10 each on both ESPN2 and ESPNU.
Shockingly, the Jays have not appeared on ESPN (not ESPN2/ESPNU) in that time.
Creighton’s last appearance on the network was a 2009 NIT loss to Kentucky, which snapped an eight-game winning streak on the channel.
Date Opponent Score Network
03/01/99 vs. Evansville W 70-61 ESPN
02/07/00 at Colorado State W 78-67 ESPN
03/06/00 vs. Missouri State W 57-45 ESPN
02/10/01 at Southern Illinois W 77-63 ESPN
02/17/01 Wyoming W 84-72 ESPN
03/10/03 vs. Southern Illinois W 80-56 ESPN
03/07/05 vs. Missouri State W 75-57 ESPN
02/18/06 Fresno State W 67-62 ESPN
03/23/09 Kentucky L 63-65 ESPN

Will Power
Reserve center Will Artino provided a huge boost in Creighton’s 59-45 win over Southern Illinois on Tuesday.
The sophomore from Waukee, Iowa, tied his career-high with 13 points and added a season-best five rebounds. He made all six field goal attempts and saw a career-high 17 minutes of playing time.
Artino has now made 25 of his last 28 shots from the floor, good for an outstanding 89.2 percent.

Away From Home
Creighton is 5-1 in non-conference road games over the past two seasons, winning at San Diego State, Tulsa, UAB, California and Nebraska.

The Case For Creighton
Should Creighton not earn the automatic bid at Arch Madness in St. Louis, it’s build up a compelling case for an at-large bid. Consider the following...
-Creighton owns a top-50 RPI and ranks tied for seventh nationally with 22 Division I wins.
-Creighton is 2-2 against the top-50 and 7-4 against the top-100.
-Creighton is 8-4 away from home this season. Among BCS teams, only five schools (Duke, Miami, Louisville, Florida and Arizona) have more than eight road/neutral victories this year.
-Creighton’s six true road wins are as many as BCS bubble teams Missouri, Tennessee, Maryland and Arkansas...COMBINED.
-Creighton is in second place in the nation’s ninth-best league, the MVC.
-Creighton went 11-1 in non-conference action, including double-digit wins away from home over Wisconsin, Arizona State, California and Nebraska.
-Creighton also defeated current MAC leader Akron and preseason league favorites Saint Joseph’s and North Texas, all at home.
-Creighton is second in the nation in 3-point percentage and field goal percentage and sixth in points scored.
-Creighton reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
-Creighton has won at least one postseason game each of the last five seasons, and has won 20 or more games in 14 of the past 15 years.

His Own Game of H-O-R-S-EDoug McDermott led the nation last year with 307 field goals made, and his 218 buckets this year are once again leading the country.
Of McDermott’s 307 hoops last year, he made 56 baskets with his left hand and used the glass for 174 of his scores.
Though he’s playing away from the basket even more this season, his numbers remain impressive, as he’s used this left hand on 20 field goals and banked in a shot 100 times.
McDermott’s 218 field goals this season lead the country, even though he’s 18th nationally with 397 field goal attempts.
No player has led the country in field goals made in back-to-back seasons since at least 1995-96.

Come A Little Bit Closer
Creighton averages 17,064 fans per home game and has attracted 273,030 fans at home this season, while Saint Mary’s averages 2,859 fans per home game and has attracted 40,020 fans all season long.
McKeon Pavilion’s capacity of 3,500 is the smallest venue that Creighton will have played in since a 72-48 win at Drexel on Dec. 1, 2007. The John A. Daskalakis Athletic Center has a listed capacity of 2,532.

22 Or Bust
Saturday’s Creighton-Saint Mary’s game will be just the second nationally this season to pit two teams with 22 or more wins against each other.
The first such contest also aired on ESPN, as Indiana topped Michigan State on Tuesday.

Rasmussen Named to MBB Committee
Creighton Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen has been appointed to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee.
Rasmussen’s five-year term begins September 1st. He will be the only newcomer to the committee for the 2013-14 academic year, replacing current chair Mike Bobinski.

3-Point Specialist
According to data from Hoop-Math.com, no player nationally has attempted a higher percentage of shots from three-point range than Creighton sharpshooter Ethan Wragge.
Wragge has attempted 146-of-155 shots from downtown this season (94.2 percent), just ahead of Maine’s Zarko Valjarevic.
Wragge is also in some other elite company, as MVC associate commissioner Mike Kern reports that Wragge is the first player in league history with 200 or more three-pointers (208) and 10 starts or less (7).

Comparing Teams
Last season Creighton had one of the nation’s most effective and most efficient offenses. With all but one regular from that squad back, we thought we’d take a second to compare the 2011-12 and 2012-13 teams through 28 games:
Stat 2011-12 2012-13
Record 23-5 22-6
FG Made 787 759
FG% .511 .508
3FG Made 233 253
3FG% .428 .426
FT Made 430 358
FT% .730 .743
Rebound Margin +5.9 +4.9
Assists 511 485
Turnovers 355 343
Scoring Average 79.9 76.0
Scoring Defense 69.0 63.2
Scoring Margin +10.9 +12.9

Racing Past 2,000 Points
After not having a player surpass 2,000 career points since 2003, the MVC had two players do it in the span of six days recently. Evansville’s Colt Ryan did it on Feb. 10th vs. Drake in his 117th career contest, and Creighton’s Doug McDermott did it against Evansville on Feb. 16th in his 101st career game.
Below is a list of the all the players in MVC history to 2,000 career points, the quickest MVC players to reach 2,000 points, and a listing of the nation’s players since 1995-96 to reach 2,000 career points in 101 career games or less, and some other notable players nationwide who reached 2,000 career points with how long it took them to reach the milestone.
All-Time MVC Scoring Leaders
Rk. Name, School Points
1. Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 3,008
2. Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 2,973
3. Larry Bird, Indiana State 2,850
4. John S. Williams, Indiana State 2,374
5. Mitchell Anderson, Bradley 2,341
6. Steve Harris, Tulsa 2,272
7. Cleo Littleton, Wichita State 2,164
8. Xavier McDaniel, Wichita State 2,152
9. Rodney Buford, Creighton 2,116
10. Bob Harstad, Creighton 2,110
11. Colt Ryan, Evansville 2,092
12. Roger Phegley, Bradley 2,064
13. Marcus Wilson, Evansville 2,053
14. Kent Williams, Southern Illinois 2,012
15. Doug McDermott, Creighton 2,011

More About 2,000 Points
Some additional notes about the 2,000 point club.
-Before Colt Ryan did it on Feb. 10th, the MVC’s last player to score 2,000 points in a career was Southern Illinois’ Kent Williams (1999-2003).
-This year marks the third time in MVC history that two men joined the 2,000 point club in the same season. It previously happened in 1984-85 (Steve Harris & Xavier McDaniel), then again in 1998-99 (Rodney Buford & Marcus Wilson).
-The Feb. 16, 2013 match-up between Colt Ryan (Evansville) and Doug McDermott (Creighton) marked the first time since March 1, 1999 that two players in the faced each other as members of the 2,000 point club. That match-up was also between Creighton & Evansville, as Rodney Buford’s CU team defeated Marcus Wilson’s UE squad in the 1999 MVC Tournament final. Buford had 21 points, while Wilson scored 16.
-Doug McDermott is the first player in MVC history to reach the 2,000 point milestone during his junior season. The only other men to reach 2,000 in three years were Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson, though both men played their sophomore through senior seasons at their respective schools.

Chasing HistoryDoug McDermott has scored 21 or more points in 19 of the season’s 28 games, moving up to third on Creighton’s all-time scoring list with 2,011 career points.
At McDermott’s current scoring average of 22.5 points per game this year he’ll become Creighton’s all-time leading scorer in five more games. Creighton has a minimum of four games remaining this season.
By comparison, both of Creighton’s top two all-time leading scorers, Rodney Buford (1995-99) and Bob Harstad (1987-91), had exactly 1,540 points at the end of their junior seasons.
All-Time MVC Scoring Leaders
Rk. Name, School Points
1. Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 3,008
10. Bob Harstad, Creighton 2,110
11. Colt Ryan, Evansville* 2,092
12. Roger Phegley, Bradley 2,064
13. Marcus Wilson, Evansville 2,053
14. Kent Williams, Southern Illinois 2,012
15. Doug McDermott, Creighton* 2,011
16. Chad Gallagher, Creighton 1,983
*active

Go West Young Man
Creighton has gone 4-0 in the past two seasons in the Pacific time zone, and Doug McDermott has been a key reason why. McDermott had 25 points & 12 rebounds at San Diego State, 30 points and eight rebounds vs. Wisconsin (in Las Vegas), 29 points and nine rebounds vs. Arizona State (in Las Vegas), and 34 points and nine rebounds at Cal.

Arena Records Within Reach
Numerous facility records could fall in Creighton’s final home game at CenturyLink Center Omaha this season. The chart below shows what is needed to SET (not tie) the record in the building. See pages 25-26 for more details.
Season Records Within Reach
Name Needs StatDoug McDermott 15 Points

Call It A Comeback
Creighton trailed 31-15 early at Evansville last Saturday before pulling off a much-needed comeback.
It was the second comeback from double-digits down in a victory this season (also UAB), and eighth in the last two seasons. Impressively, five of those comebacks have come away from home.
Below is a list of Creighton’s 11 comebacks from down 15 points or more since 2000. Notably, Creighton’s comeback last Saturday was CU’s third-largest away from home in that time.
Overcoming Large Deficits, Since 2000
Date Opponent Deficit Final Score
01/28/06 Wichita State 19 W 57-55
11/27/01 Western Kentucky 18 W 95-91 2ot
02/12/03 Missouri State 17 W 70-67 ot
11/09/07 DePaul 17 W 74-62
11/30/11 at San Diego State 17 W 85-83
03/18/08 Rhode Island 17 W 74-73
11/16/08 New Mexico 16 W 82-75
02/04/06 at Drake 16 W 72-67 ot
01/26/03 TCU 16 W 89-79
02/02/08 Wichita State 15 W 65-63
02/16/13 at Evansville 15 W 71-68

1K to 2K
Creighton’s Doug McDermott went over the 1,000 point milestone in his 57th career game (last year at home vs. SIU) and just surpassed 2,000 in game 101 at Evansville last Saturday.
McDermott had 1,018 points (17.9 ppg.) and 433 rebounds (7.6 rpg.) in his first 57 games while shooting 44.9 percent (80-179) from 3-point range.
Since then, McDermott has scored 993 points (22.1 ppg) and grabbed 352 rebounds (7.8 rpg.) in 45 games while shooting 49.4 percent (78-158) from three-point range.

McDermott Earns MVC AwardsDoug McDermott has been named MVC Player of the Week seven times this season, the most by any player in one season in league history.
His first honor came Nov. 12th for his performance in a Nov. 9 win vs. North Texas. McDermott had 21 points and 11 rebounds to produce CU’s first double-double in a season-opener since Kyle Korver in 2001-02.
He was then honored on Nov. 26th after averaging 25.3 points and 7.3 rebounds while earning MVP honors of the Las Vegas Invitational.
McDermott was honored on Dec. 10th after averaging 28.5 points in wins vs. Nebraska and Akron.
McDermott was honored on Dec. 17th after scoring 34 points and hauling down nine rebounds in a win at Cal on Dec. 15th. He was also named National Player of the Week by Seth Davis (CBS/Sports Illustrated) and the USBWA for that performance.
His fifth honor of the year came on Jan. 14th after he averaged 27.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in wins over Missouri State and Drake.
McDermott averaged 27.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in wins vs. Missouri State and Bradley to win his sixth award on Feb. 4th.
Most recently (Feb. 18th), McDermott averaged 18.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists as Creighton while becoming the first junior in league history to surpass 2,000 career points.
McDermott now owns 12 career MVC Player of the Week honors, something only Bradley great Hersey Hawkins (14) can top. His seven honors this year surpass Hawkins’ 1987-88 campaign (6) for the most ever in a single-season.
Including his seven MVC Newcomer of the Week honors in 2010-11, McDermott has won at least one weekly award from the MVC in 19 of 47 weeks since enrolling at Creighton.

Been Here Before And Answered The Bell
Creighton doesn’t have many three-game losing streaks, but (like this year) did lose games No. 24, 25 and 26 last season as well.
That team snapped the three-game win streak with a big win on the road (88-69 at Southern Illinois) while shooting an MVC-record 77.5 percent from the field (31-40). The Jays followed that with a crucial BracketBusters win vs. a team from California (Long Beach State), would win its final two regular-season games, and win the MVC Tournament. The Jays then defeated Alabama in the NCAA Tournament before North Carolina snapped CU’s eight-game win streak in the third round of the NCAA’s.
This year Creighton snapped its three-game losing streak with a big win on the road at Evansville, and hopes to follow last year’s path in another BracketBusters game vs. a California team.

Reasons For Optimism
Creighton’s recent three-game losing streak, though rare, doesn’t mean there’s not time to right the ship. Consider the following championship teams from the past 24 months, and how they were able to recover:
2011 New York Giants (NFL) - Lost 4 in a row during weeks 11-14...won Super Bowl.
2010-11 Indiana State Sycamores (MBB) - Fell to 12-12 on the season (7-6 in the MVC) with its fifth straight loss on Feb. 5, 2011, only to rebound to win the MVC Tournament title.
2010-11 Connecticut Huskies (MBB) - Went 4-7 from Jan. 29-March 5...won NCAA title.
2010-11 Dallas Mavericks (NBA) - Three different losing streaks of 3 or more...won NBA title.
2010-11 Boston Bruins (NHL) - Three different losing streaks of 3 or more...won Stanley Cup.
2011 St. Louis Cardinals (MLB)- Six different losing streaks of 3 or more...won World Series.
2011-12 Creighton Bluejays (MBB) - Lost three games in early February...won next seven including MVC Tournament and NCAA Second Round game.
2011-12 Los Angeles Kings (NHL) - Two different three-game losing streaks...won Stanley Cup.
2011-12 Miami Heat (NBA) - Twice lost three straight games in strike-shortened season, then had to rally from a 3-2 deficit in Eastern Conference finals vs. Boston...won NBA title.
2012 San Francisco Giants (MLB) - Had five losing streaks of three or more and lost first two games in best-of-5 NLDS series at home...won World Series.
2012 Baltimore Ravens (NFL) - Lost in weeks 13, 14 and 15...won Super Bowl.

10 Conference Wins x 17
Creighton has extended its MVC record by winning 10 or more league games for a 17th consecutive season, picking up the 17th victory on Saturday at Evansville.
On a national basis, the only other current school with at least 17 straight years of 10 or more league wins is Kansas (18 straight and 9-3 this year).
Each of the previous 16 seasons has seen the team finish fourth place or better in the MVC as well.

Johnson & More Johnson
Redshirt freshman guard Nevin Johnson has seen his role increase in recent weeks. The Houston, Texas, native has scored 28 points in the past five games after scoring 23 total points in CU’s first 23 games.
Johnson had nine points and four rebounds vs. Illinois State on Feb. 9, then had three points and four rebounds at UNI on Feb. 13. Creighton outscored UNI the Panthers 32-21 in the 19:04 with Johnson on the floor on Wednesday.

Near-Full House Trumps The Aces
Evansville didn’t sell out Ford Center last Saturday, but its crowd of 6.838 was a season-high. This Saturday’s game at Saint Mary’s is expected to sell out as well.
Creighton has played in front of 10 sellout crowds this season (7 at home, as well as Nebraska, Wichita State and Northern Iowa).
Last year’s Creighton team also played in front of 10 capacity crowds.

Toughest Thing in Sports?
Creighton is in the midst of a stretch where it plays four of five games on the road, where it’ll look to do something (win) that even the nation’s best college basketball squads have trouble doing.
The 25 college basketball teams that were ranked in AP poll on Jan. 18th are 60-61 since then in true road games (through Feb. 20).

Even The Best Have Stumbled
Creighton started the season 17-1, but is 5-5 in its last 10 games. Of the nation’s top-46 RPI teams (thru 2/20), Creighton is one of seven teams that are 5-5 or worse in its past 10 games.

McDermott Through 100 Games
Creighton junior Doug McDermott played in his 100th career game on Feb. 13th at UNI.
He is the first Bluejay since Ryan Sears (1997-2001) to start the first 100 games of his career. Here’s a look at the stats from some other recent notable Creighton players through 100 career games.
First 100 Career Games
Name Pts ReboundsDoug McDermott 1,980 768
Rodney Buford 1,799 584
Bob Harstad 1,626 888
Chad Gallagher 1,508 695
Kyle Korver 1,306 480
Nate Funk 1,144 324
Ryan Sears 1,061 326
Ben Walker 951 530
Kenny Lawson Jr. 896 517
Dane Watts 830 498
Anthony Tolliver 782 443

Supporting CastDoug McDermott is Creighton’s only player averaging in double-figures, but he’s had lots of support to help lead the Jays to 22 wins already.
Creighton is 12-1 when Gregory Echenique (9.5 ppg.) scores in double-figures this year.
Creighton is 9-0 when Ethan Wragge (7.9 ppg.) scores in double-figures this year.
Creighton is 7-1 when Austin Chatman (7.8 ppg.) scores in double-figures this year.
Creighton is 5-1 when Jahenns Manigat (5.9 ppg.) scores in double-figures this year.

Poll Position
Creighton is out of both the USA Today Coaches poll and Associated Press top-25 polls at the same time for the first time all season.
Creighton is tied for 29th in this week’s coaches poll and is tied for 37th in the AP edition.
Creighton’s program-record streak of 17 straight weeks in the AP’s top-25 was snapped when the Jays dropped out of the Feb. 11th edition.
Creighton’s best AP ranking this year was 11th on Nov. 26th, and its best coaches poll rank was 10th.
Creighton was ranked 15th in this year’s preseason coaches poll, its first preseason recognition since coming in at No. 23 in 2006-07.
Creighton started this year with a No. 16 preseason ranking by the AP, its highest preseason mark in program history and the best by any MVC school since No. 6 Wichita State in 1981-82.
Including the February 18th poll, Creighton has been ranked 26 times in 53 weeks of polls under Greg McDermott, and ranked between 26th-to-28th in five other polls. The 26 weeks in the top-25 under McDermott is more than any coach in Bluejay history.
Coaches Spending Most Weeks in Top 25 at CUGreg McDermott, 2010-Pres. 26 (of 53)
Dana Altman, 1994-2010 18
Tom Apke, 1974-81 5
Eddie Sutton, 1969-74 5

20 Wins, Again
Creighton has won 20 or more games for the 14th time in the last 15 seasons, an unprecedented feat in Missouri Valley Conference history that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Entering this season, just five schools nationally have had 20 or more wins each of the last 14 years: Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas and Syracuse.
Creighton was one of six schools to enter this season with 20 or more wins in exactly 13 of the past 14 years. That list consists of Creighton, Kent State, Kentucky, Texas, Utah State and Xavier.
That’s better than traditional powers Arizona, Connecticut and Memphis (12 each) and also ahead of Michigan State, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin (11 each).
Creighton secured its 25th all-time 20-win season with a victory on Feb. 2nd, the second-fastest its ever been (by calendar) to that milestone.
Most 20+ Win Seasons, Last 14 Years (2/20)
Seasons* School 2012-13 W-L Next Game
14* Gonzaga 26-2 2/23
14* Duke 22-3 2/21
14* Florida 21-4 2/23
14* Syracuse 22-4 2/23
14* Kansas 22-4 2/23
13* Creighton 22-6 2/23
13 Utah State 18-7 2/23
13 Kentucky 18-8 2/23
13 Xavier 15-10 2/23
13 Kent State 14-12 2/23
13 Texas 12-14 2/23
*20-win seasons list above does not include 2012-13

March 2 To Be Televised, Start at 1:05 PM
Creighton’s March 2 game vs. Wichita State will start at 1:05 pm and air on ESPN2. The contest was chosen by the Worldwide Leader in Sports as part of the MVC’s “Wildcard Weekend” selection process.
Creighton will honor seniors Gregory Echenique, Grant Gibbs, Josh Jones and Joe Kelling, as well as graduating junior Taylor Stormberg, in a post-game ceremony that day.

Historically After 12 MVC Games
Creighton was 9-3 in the MVC after its 12th game of the league slate. This is the 18th straight season that Creighton has had a league record of .500 or better after 12 games, and each of the previous 17 campaigns the Jays would also go .500 or better in its final six contests as well.
Year W-L After 12 W-L Final 6
2012-13 9-3 2-2 so far
2011-12 11-1 3-3
2010-11 6-6 4-2
2009-10 7-5 3-3
2008-09 8-4 6-0
2007-08 7-5 3-3
2006-07 9-3 4-2
2005-06 9-3 3-3
2004-05 6-6 5-1
2003-04 9-3 3-3
2002-03 11-1 4-2
2001-02 10-2 4-2
2000-01 8-4 6-0
1999-00 7-5 4-2
1998-99 7-5 4-2
1997-98 8-4 4-2
1996-97 7-5 3-3
1995-96 6-6 3-3
Total 145-71 (.671) 68-38 (.642)

About The Final Seconds
Creighton’s Feb. 13 game at Northern Iowa was the first (and only) time all season that Creighton had a lead change in the final five minutes. Unfortunately for CU, its 48-45 lead was squandered as it lost 61-54.
Last year’s Creighton team went 5-1 in games that went to overtime or had a lead change in the final five minutes of regulation and were 7-1 in games decided by six points or less.

MVC’s Best On The Road
In addition to owning one of the MVC’s best home-court advantages, Creighton has easily posted the league’s best record in MVC road games since 2000-01 as well.
Creighton is 63-53 in MVC road games in that span, a win percentage of .543. A distant second is Southern Illinois (53-63, .461). As a league, the road winning percentage has been .344 in the same span.
MVC Road Records (since 2000-01)
Team W L Pct.
Creighton 63 53 .543
Southern Illinois 53 63 .457
Wichita State 51 65 .440
Northern Iowa 48 68 .414
Missouri State 43 73 .371
Illinois State 33 83 .284
Drake 33 83 .284
Bradley 30 86 .259
Indiana State 25 91 .216
Evansville 20 96 .172
All MVC Teams 399 761 .344

Over .500, Again
Creighton has been better than .500 in either the first or second-half of the league season in 34 straight trips through the league, including this year’s first half.
Creighton’s 34 consecutive halves above .500 in league play is easily the Valley’s longest active streak, with Wichita State next closest at eight.
Here’s how Creighton’s teams have fared in the various halves of the MVC season since 1995-96.
Year 1st Half 2nd Half
2012-13 7-2 4-3 so far
2011-12 8-1 6-3
2010-11 5-4 5-4
2009-10 5-4 5-4
2008-09 5-4 9-0
2007-08 5-4 5-4
2006-07 6-3 7-2
2005-06 7-2 5-4
2004-05 5-4 6-3
2003-04 7-2 5-4
2002-03 8-1 7-2
2001-02 8-1 6-3
2000-01 5-4 9-0
1999-00 5-4 6-3
1998-99 6-3 5-4
1997-98 5-4 7-2
1996-97 5-4 5-4
1995-96 4-5 5-4
Total 106-56 (.654) 107-53 (.669)

Grand PoobahDoug McDermott has scored 1,060 points in his first 54 career home games. He is the all-time leading scorer in CenturyLink Center Omaha history.
McDermott also owns CenturyLink Center Omaha career records in points per game (19.6) and rebounds per game (7.5).
McDermott enters Saturday’s game with 2,011 career points in all venues, good for third in school and 15th in MVC history.
In case you’re curious, CU’s all-time leading scorer, Rodney Buford, scored 1,056 points in 56 career home games at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.

Scoring Frenzy
No player has scored more points in the last two seasons than Doug McDermott, who owns the top spot on that list with 1,430 points in that span. Next up in a distant second on that list is South Dakota State’s Nate Wolters (1,345).

Give Him The Oscar!
Creighton junior Doug McDermott is one of 12 players selected by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association for its 2013 Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List. Members of the association’s board of directors chose the players to be included on the list as contenders for the Oscar Robertson Trophy presented by Aflac.
In addition to McDermott, other players under consideration are Anthony Bennett, Trey Burke, Michael Carter-Williams, Ben McLemore, Victor Oladipo, Kelly Olynyk, Mason Plumlee, Russ Smith, Deshaun Thomas, Jeff Withey and Cody Zeller.
The award is to be presented to the national player of the year by its namesake at the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards on April 15 at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. The Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award and the Integris Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award will also be presented at the gala to be held annually the Monday following the NCAA Men’s Final Four.

600 Point Club, AgainDoug McDermott is third in the nation with 629 points this season, his third straight season of 500 or more points.
He is the fourth player in Creighton history with three straight seasons of 500 or more points, joining Paul Silas (1961-64), Bob Harstad (1988-91) and Rodney Buford (1996-99).
McDermott, however, is the only player in CU history with three straight seasons of 550 points or more.

Could He Lead The Nation?Doug McDermott enters Saturday’s game ranked fourth in the nation in scoring. Virginia Tech’s Erick Green (25.3 ppg.) continues to lead the nation.
Green has scored between 20 to 36 points in 23 of his 25 games this season, but many tough tests lie ahead in the ACC.
The odds don’t favor a player at a “BCS” school to finish as the scoring champ. Since 1971-72, the only guy playing at the “BCS” school to lead the nation in scoring was Purdue’s Glenn Robinson (30.3 ppg.) in 1993-94.

What A Start!
Now in his third year, Greg McDermott is 74-28 in his first 102 games on the Creighton sideline. The 74 wins are second-most in Creighton history after 102 games. Here’s a breakdown of how he compares to some other Creighton coaches after 102 games.
W-L After 102 Games, Select CU Coaches
Coach Years W-L After 102
Arthur A. Schabinger 1922-35 77-25Greg McDermott 2010-Pres. 74-28
Tom Apke 1974-81 74-28
Eddie Sutton 1969-74 59-43
Red McManus 1959-69 56-46
Dana Altman 1994-10 47-55
Tony Barone 1985-91 45-57
Willis Reed 1981-85 44-58

Racing Past 70Greg McDermott enters Saturday’s game with 74 wins in his first three seasons at Creighton. According to research by MVC Associate Commissioner Mike Kern, McDermott’s 74 wins are fourth-most by a Valley coach in his first three years at a school.
Ed Jucker and Denny Crum both won national titles and are MVC Hall of Famers, while Crum is also in the Naismith and NABC Hall of Fame.
Most Wins, 1st Three Years at an MVC School
W-L Name, School Years
91-19 Forddy Anderson, Bradley 1948-51
84-7 Ed Jucker, Cincinnati 1959-62
78-26 Chris Lowery, Southern Illinois 2004-07
74-28 Greg McDermott, Creighton 2010-Pres.
71-31 Tim Jankovich, Illinois State 2007-10
70-19 Denny Crum, Louisville 1971-74

Emerging EcheniqueGregory Echenique scored in double-figures during eight straight games from Dec. 1st - Jan. 5th, but has reached double-figures in just three of 13 games since.
Creighton is 12-1 this year when Echenique scores in double-figures, and 37-12 all-time when he scores in double-figures.

Point, Counterpoint
No player in the MVC owns more assists in the past two seasons than Creighton senior Grant Gibbs’ 335. Earlier this year Gibbs became the 12th player (and second-quickest) in Bluejay history to 300 assists, doing it in his 56th contest.
MVC Assist Leaders, Since 2011-12
335 Grant Gibbs, Creighton
282 Jake Odum, Indiana State
222 Troy Taylor, Evansville

Elite CompanyDoug McDermott is averaging 22.5 points and 7.8 rebounds, while also shooting 47.9 percent from three-point range.
According to a graphic airing on ESPN on January 15th, McDermott could join Duke’s Christian Laettner and UCLA’s Tracy Murray as the only players in NCAA history to average at least 20 points, 7.0 rebounds while shooting 50 percent or better from downtown (min. 50 attempts).
Both Laettner and Murray did it in 1991-92, with Laettner taking home Wooden Award honors.

Strong On the Road
Off to a 22-6 start overall, Creighton is 8-4 away from home this season. Four of those victories have come against two Big Ten teams (Wisconsin, Nebraska) and two Pacific-12 teams (Arizona State, Cal).
Impressively, all four BCS wins have been by double-digits. Creighton is 8-1 in the past two years against BCS teams, including six victories by double-digits and another triumph by eight.

Winning Away From Home
Creighton won a school-record 15 games away from home last season. The Jays went 10-3 in true road games and were also 5-1 on neutral floors.
Creighton’s lone neutral-site loss came to North Carolina in a not-so “neutral” Greensboro, N.C., in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
This year’s team is 8-4 away from home, with four of those victories against a BCS school (Wisconsin, Arizona State, Nebraska, Cal) by double-digits, a 22-point win at Missouri State, a seven-point win at Illinois State, a 30-point win at Southern Illinois and a three-point win at Evansville.
This season was the first time since 1942-43 that Creighton has won its first six games away from home.
Each of Creighton’s last nine NCAA Tournament teams have won 10 or more games away from home, and eight of those teams had a winning record in true road contests.
Full House
Creighton has attracted seven of its 16 largest home crowds in program history this season, which includes sellouts in six of the past seven games. Here’s a look at Creighton’s top-16 home crowds all-time.
Rank Att. Opponent Date
1. 18,735 Wichita State 02/11/12
2. 18,494 Illinois State 02/09/13
3. 18,458 Evansville 12/29/12
4. 18,436 Bradley 01/28/12
5. 18,111 Bradley 02/02/13
6. 18,073 Drake 01/08/13
7. 17,954 Wichita State 12/28/08
8. 17,694 Indiana State 01/05/13
9. 17,676 Northwestern 12/22/11
10. 17,665 Missouri State 12/28/11
11. 17,607 Drexel 02/17/07
12. 17,459 Southern Illinois 01/20/07
13. 17,411 George Mason 02/21/09
17,411 Indiana State 01/21/12
15. 17,391 Northern Iowa 01/15/13
16. 17,390 Saint Joseph’s 12/01/12

Nation’s Best Offense?
You can make a case that Creighton has boasted the nation’s best offensive production so far this year.
Through games of February 20th, Creighton was second in the nation in three-point percentage (42.6) and field goal percentage (50.8), sixth in three-pointers per game (9.0) and fourth in two-point field goal percentage (56.2).
According to data from bbstate.com, no team since at least 2005-06 has shot better than 58.7 from two-point range.
Last season Creighton ranked third nationally in three-point percentage, making 42.4 percent from downtown.
The only team to ever lead the nation in both 3-pointers per game and 3-point percentage was Princeton in 1987-88.
The only team to ever lead the nation in both field goal percentage and three-point percentage was Northern Arizona 1998-99.

Defense! Defense!
Creighton ranked 222nd nationally last season in field goal percentage defense at 44.1 percent, one area that the program has tried hard to improve on in the off-season.
The results have been promising, as CU has limited foes to 41.1 percent marksmanship. That figure ranked 105th-best nationally in 2012-13 through Sunday’s games.
Only seven teams have shot better than 43.4 percent this season against the Jays in 27 games.
The 42 points by Nebraska on Dec. 6th were its fewest against Creighton since 1932, a span of 39 meetings.

Efficiency Improves
Because Creighton tends to play at a faster pace and have more possessions than the average school, Bluejay coaches place significant emphasis on stats like average points per possession, with data that can be found on a site such as bbstate.com.
Creighton’s offense is still clicking as one of the nation’s best, but the team has made huge strides on the defensive end of the floor, jumping from 222nd last year to 81st this season.
All but six of Creighton’s first 28 opponents have been held under 1.03 points per possession this season.
Points Per Possession
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
Offense 1.065 1.150 1.150
Offense Rank 46th 2nd 4th
Defense 1.006 1.014 0.939
Defense Rank 192nd 222nd 81st

The BarometerJahenns Manigat led the MVC with his 49.2 percent marksmanship from three-point range in league play a year ago. When it came to CU’s nine MVC road games last year, he was the barometer.
In Creighton’s seven Valley road wins, Manigat shot a robust 19-of-27 (70.4 percent) from downtown. In CU’s two Valley road losses, Manigat was just 2-of-9 (22.2 percent) from downtown.
In Creighton’s four Valley road wins this year, Manigat is 12-for-17 (70.6 percent) from three-point range, while he is 1-for-11 (9.1 percent) from deep in CU’s four MVC road losses.

McDermott Goes For 39
Junior Doug McDermott had a season-high 39 points on Jan. 11th at Missouri State, scoring in nearly every conceivable way. Consider the following aspects of his performance:
-McDermott started the game 1-for-4 from the field, then sank his next 14 shots from the floor. When he missed his final shot of the game with 4:13 to go, the JQH Arena crowd gave a sarcastic Bronx cheer.
-McDermott scored Creighton’s first 18 points of the second half as the Jays extended a 32-27 halftime lead into a 50-32 margin.
-McDermott’s 39 points were seven more than the previous JQH Arena record.
-McDermott outscored Missouri State by himself in the second half, 28-25, and outscored MSU 35-34, in the final 26:16 of the contest.
-McDermott became the first player in the country this season with 39 points and 10 or more rebounds in the same game this season.
-His 28 points in the second half were the most by a Creighton player in a half since he scored 31 in the second half of his 44-point performance at Bradley on Jan. 7, 2012.
-McDermott’s 39 points are tied for the most in the MVC by any player this season with Wichita State’s Cleanthony Early.

Jays Reach 10 Home Wins, Again
With a Jan. 8th win vs. Drake, Creighton won its 10th home game this season. Creighton has now won 10 or more home games in 17 straight seasons.
The streak is easily a school-record, five more than the previous standard of 12 straight seasons from the 1969-70 season to the 1980-81 campaign with 10 or more home wins.

Wragge = Instant OffenseEthan Wragge had 22 points in just 17 minutes vs. Drake on Jan. 8th, sinking six three-pointers for the fourth time in his career.
It’s the second time in Wragge’s career he’s had 20 or more points in 17 minutes or less, having gone for 21 points in 17 minutes as a freshman vs. Xavier.
Before Wragge arrived on campus four years ago, no other Creighton player had 20 or more points in 19 minutes or less since Vernon Moore put up 21 points in 19 minutes against Nebraska-Kearney on Nov. 24, 1984.

Filling It UpEthan Wragge is third in the MVC with 63 three-pointers made this season, giving him 209 in his career. That places him fourth in Creighton history.
All three men ahead of him, as well as the man behind him, were named MVC Tournament Most Outstanding Player at some point in their careers.
Most 3FG Made, Career
3FG Name Years
371 Kyle Korver 1999-03
245 Ryan Sears 1997-01
212 Rodney Buford 1995-99
209 Ethan Wragge 2009-Pres.
200 Nate Funk 2002-07

Midseason Wooden Award List
Creighton forward Doug McDermott is the lone MVC representative on the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25. Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the list is made up of 25 student-athletes who, based on their performances in November, December, and the beginning of January, are the frontrunners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor.
The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation’s top 10 players, will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament. The John R. Wooden Award Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s will be announced on ESPN during the Final Four Weekend in Atlanta. The 2013 Wooden Award Gala presented by Wendy’s will take place April 11-13, 2013, at The Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Get Your Tickets!
Creighton fans have already purchased 4,000 lower bowl all-session tickets for the MVC Tournament, which will be March 7-10 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. The mark shatters the previous MVC record for sales by a school set by Bluejay fans last year (2,575).
To join the Creighton contingent at Arch Madness with a purchase in the upper-bowl, call the CU Ticket Office at 402-280-JAYS.

Three-Point Barrage
Creighton started MVC play shooting the daylights out of the ball, making 50 percent or better of its 3-point shots in six straight games for the first time in program history.
The Jays were 12-of-24 from downtown vs. Evansville, went 13-of-25 at Illinois State, were 11-of-22 from deep vs. Indiana State, an absurd 16-of-27 vs. Drake, 9-of-17 from long-range at Missouri State and 6-of-12 vs. UNI.
Creighton’s four-game stretch to start league play was the first time since January of 2008 that Creighton’s had four straight games with 10 or more three-pointers.
Creighton’s 16 three-pointers vs. Drake were tied for second-most in school history, tied for 10th-most in MVC history and the most in the MVC in 2012-13. The league record for three-pointers in a game is 20, done by Creighton (vs. Chattanooga on 2/19/05) and later matched by Bradley vs. Florida A&M on Nov. 21, 2006.

Army of Iowans
Every Creighton team since 1988-89 has had at least one Iowa native, and this season is no exception.
Creighton has four players from Iowa on this season’s team, continuing a long trend of relying on some of the Hawkeye State’s top preps. CU’s Iowans this season includes senior Grant Gibbs (Marion), junior Doug McDermott (Ames), sophomore Will Artino (Waukee) and redshirt freshman Alex Olsen (Council Bluffs).
Other past notable Iowans include Kyle Korver (Pella), Ryan Sears (Ankeny), Brody Deren (Harlan), Tyler McKinney (Urbandale) and Nate Funk (Sioux City).
Creighton has played at least one Iowa native in 613 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State. In that time, 927 of Creighton’s 3,065 starts (30.2 percent) can be attributed to Iowans. Here’s a list of the Iowans and how many starts they’ve made during this run:
Creighton’s Starts By Iowans, Since 2/5/1994
Ryan Sears 124Doug McDermott 102
Nate Funk 99
Kyle Korver 95
Michael Lindeman 94
Tyler McKinney 89
Brody Deren 89Grant Gibbs 63
Joel Templeman 57
Kaleb Korver 46
Pierce Hibma 27
Adam Reid 24
Casey Harriman 16
John Klein 2

Big Man In The MiddleGregory Echenique scored in double-figures in eight straight games from Dec. 1st - Jan. 5th.
Echenique’s 65.0 percent marksmanship from the field leads The Valley is on pace to approach not only the Creighton (67.4%) mark, but also the MVC single-season mark (also 67.4%) as well.
It’s also worth noting that Echenique ranks third in Creighton history with 155 career blocked shots. Echenique also ranks 13th in Rutgers history with 94 career swats, where he spent the first three semesters of college.
Most Blocked Shots, Creighton History
(Since 1979-80)
Blk. Name Years
411 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
183 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
155 Gregory Echenique 2010-Pres.
153 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-11
138 Brody Deren 2001-04
136 Anthony Tolliver 2003-07

RPI Update
Through games of February 20, Creighton is ranked 46th in the RPI according to WarrenNolan.com, while Saint Mary’s ranks 51st.
Creighton owns eight wins against RPI teams in the top-84. By comparison, defending national champion Kentucky has four such wins.
As a league, the MVC is the ninth-best conference nationally.

Honors Roll InDoug McDermott picked up two big honors in early January, adding to his collection.
ESPN.com named McDermott the National Player of the Month after a December that saw him average a nation-best 26.5 points per game while shooting 57.5 percent from the field, 57.6 percent from three-point range and 88.9 percent in the line in six Creighton victories.
McDermott was also named the Lute Olson Award Midseason National Player of the Year honoree. McDermott was named the Lute Olson Award National Player of the Year at the end of last season.
McDermott has been named Midseason National Player of the Year by such experts as Seth Davis, Dick Vitale and Andy Katz.

Let’s Get It Started
Creighton won its first six MVC games this season before falling at Wichita State.
As good as Creighton’s been since rejoining the MVC in 1977-78, it was just the second time the program has started 6-0 in league play in that span. Each of the previous two teams to start 5-0 in league play would go on to win the MVC Tournament.
Creighton’s Best MVC Starts, Since 1977-78
Start Year Finish/Place
7-0 2002-03 15-3/2nd (won MVC Tourney)
6-0 2012-13 ? ? ?
5-0 1988-89 11-3/1st (won MVC Tourney

Conference Starts Are Big
Since 1993-94, only one team (Northern Iowa, a 2008-09 co-champion) has won at least a share of the regular-season title without winning its league opener. In fact, 16 of the last 18 regular-season champs (or co-champs) have opened 2-0 or better in MVC play, with UNI in 2008-09 and Wichita State in 2011-12 serving as the exceptions.
This season the only MVC teams to start 2-0 were Bradley, Wichita State, Creighton and Indiana State.

Unbeaten December
Creighton went 6-0 in December wrapping up an unbeaten December with a victory over Evansville on Dec. 29.
Since 1946-47, Creighton’s only two other teams to go unbeaten in December were in 2003 and 2008.
The 2008-09 team went 9-0 in December and would go on to win a share of the MVC regular-season title.
The 2003-04 squad finished tied for second in the MVC. That team began the season 12-0 before suffering an overtime loss in a game hosted by Northern Iowa and its then-coach, Greg McDermott.

Consistent Challengers
Ten of Creighton’s last 15 teams have finished either first or second in The Valley’s regular-season race. Two of the five that didn’t won the MVC Tournament.
The Bluejays won the MVC in 2000-01 and tied for the title in 2001-02 and 2008-09. CU was second in the MVC in 1997-98 and 2006-07, tied for second in the MVC in 1998-99, 2003-04 and 2005-06, and finished tied for third in 2004-05. The 1999-00 club was fourth in the MVC, but won the MVC Tournament, while the 2010-11 club tied for fourth place.
This year’s team is already assured a top-four finish, which would be a 16th straight season.
Creighton’s MVC Finishes, Last 15 Years
1st Place 2000-01
Tied for First 2001-02 (won MVC Tourn.), 2008-09
2nd Place 1997-98, 2002-03 (won MVC Tourn.),
2006-07 (won MVC Tourn.), 2011-12 (won MVC Tourn.)
Tied for 2nd 1998-99 (won MVC Tourn.), 2003-04, 2005-06
Tied for 3rd Place 2004-05 (won MVC Tourn.)
4th Place 1999-00 (won MVC Tourn.); 2007-08; 2009-10
Tied for 4th Place 2010-11

Coaches vs. Cancer Summary
As part of the nationwide American Cancer Society Coaches Vs. Cancer event, men’s basketball fans were encouraged to wear pink to promote cancer awareness and participate in the “Creighton Vs. Cancer Pink Out” game when the Bluejays hosted Bradley on Saturday, Feb. 2.
Bluejay players wore pink shooting shirts and pink jerseys for the game and fans had the opportunity to honor a friend or family member who has battled cancer or is currently battling cancer by purchasing the apparel via auction (the shooting shirt could be personalized – last name, nickname, etc.).
The first 14,000 fans entering the venue on February 2 received a complimentary pink t-shirt courtesy of Alegent Creighton Health and Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center.
Last year’s Creighton vs. Cancer jersey auction raised more than $20,600. This year’s auction raised $24,444. An additional $7,239.17 was raised from at-the-door collection, bringing the total to $31,683.17. Seven jerseys sold for more than $1,000. Below is a list showing what each jersey sold for:
Jersey #00 $2,025
Jersey #1 $1,125
Jersey #2 $860
Jersey #3 $5,002
Jersey #4 $406
Jersey #5 $2,550
Jersey #10 $3,050
Jersey #11 $510
Jersey #12 $1,020
Jersey #13 $450
Jersey #22 $910
Jersey #23 $585
Jersey #24 $960
Jersey #30 $556
Jersey #31 $710.01
Jersey #34 $1,025
Jersey #50 $510

Creighton’s Exclusive 30/30 ClubDoug McDermott scored 30 points in a Dec. 9 win vs. Akron, then followed that performance with a season-high 34 seven days later at Cal.
McDermott, who leads the MVC with 23.7 points per game, became the first Creighton player with 30 points in consecutive contests since Bob Harstad in 1990.
McDermott also scored 30 or more in consecutive wins vs. Missouri State and Northern Iowa in January.

Doing It All
Reigning MVC Player of the Year Doug McDermott has one of the nation’s best set of post moves, and now the junior forward is taking his skills to the perimeter with similar success.
Eight days after tying a career-high with five-three pointers in a 29-point thrashing of Atlantic-10 favorite Saint Joseph’s, McDermott shot 6-for-8 from downtown in a 77-61 win over defending MAC champion Akron on Dec. 9th.
McDermott’s career 45.7 percent accuracy from three-point range ranks tops in CU history. Since starting his career 15-of-53 (28.3 percent) after 20 games from downtown, McDermott has made 143-of-293 three-pointers (48.8 percent) in his past 82 games.
McDermott averaged 13.6 points in his first 20 games at Creighton, and has averaged 21.21 points in his past 82 games with the Jays.

Full House
This year’s Creighton team ranks sixth nationally in average home attendance, averaging 17,064 fans per game.
In 2011-12, Creighton finished sixth nationally in home attendance, averaging 16,665 fans per home game. It’s the sixth straight season that CU has been among the nation’s top-25 in average home attendance, and set an MVC average home attendance record.
Creighton has now surpassed 200,000 home fans in a season for the eighth time. No other school in the history of the MVC has ever done so even once.
Creighton also ranked seventh nationally in men’s soccer attendance and 10th in baseball attendance, the nation’s only school in the top-10 of those three sports in 2011-12.
2012-13 Attendance Leaders (2/22)
Rk. School Average Next Home
1. Kentucky 22,872 2/23
2. Louisville 21,326 2/23
3. Syracuse 21,049 2/23
4. North Carolina 18,837 2/23
5. Indiana 17,405 3/2
6. Creighton 17,064 3/2
7. Tennessee 16,928 2/26
8. Wisconsin 16,807 2/26
9. BYU 16,505 3/2
10. Kansas 16,466 2/23

Jones Hangs Up High TopsJosh Jones was hospitalized prior to Creighton’s Dec. 6 game at Nebraska after he fainted during pre-game warm-ups on the Bob Devaney Sports Center court prior to Creighton’s 64-42 win.
Jones was released from a Lincoln hospital on Dec. 7th. Jones was underwent a nine-hour medical procedure on Dec. 18th, and on Dec. 26th announced his basketball career is done due to an atrial flutter.
The senior guard was averaging 7.0 points per game as the team’s top guard off the bench.
Creighton outscored the opposition 249-92 off the bench in eight games with Jones, but has been outscored 368-355 off the bench since he’s been out of the line-up.

Might As Well Jump
Creighton is 14-3 this season when Gregory Echenique wins the opening tip. Creighton’s streak of 20 straight wins when winning the jump ball to start the game ended in its Jan. 23 loss at Drake.
Creighton is 44-12 all-time when Echenique wins the opening tip, but 16-9 when he loses the tip.

Pizza Pie, Piled High = Wins
Thanks to a promotion with Omaha-based Godfather’s Pizza, Creighton season ticket-holders can get a free mini pizza any time the Jays score 75 points at home.
History has proven that when the team earns the fans pizza, it often leads to a victory as well.
The first three years of CenturyLink Center Omaha (2003-06), Creighton needed 70 points to earn its fans free pizza, and the Jays went 27-3 when reaching that threshold, closing out that run with 12 straight wins.
Since upping the standard to 75 points prior to the 2006-07 campaign, Creighton is a perfect 66-0 when scoring 75 points or more at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
In other words, Creighton is a perfect 78-0 in CenturyLink Center Omaha since Feb. 6, 2005 when scoring enough points to earn its fans some free pizza.

A New Streak
Since Greg McDermott took over three years ago, Creighton is averaging 77.93 points per home game (4,208 points in 54 home games).
That’s a vital number since Creighton is 89-0 at home (62-0 at CenturyLink Center Omaha) when scoring 78 points or more and 71-0 at home (48-0 at CenturyLink Center Omaha) when scoring 80 points or more at home dating to a 92-83 loss to Southern Illinois on Feb. 19, 2000.

Stat Leaders
Statistically, Creighton ranks among the nation’s top-20 in eight different categories through games of Feb. 17th. The Jays lead the nation in three-point percentage (.429), are second in field goal percentage (.508), third in three-pointers per game (9.3), fourth with 17.4 assists per game, sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.43), sixth in points (2,070), 15th in scoring margin (+12.8) and 19th in scoring offense (76.7).
The only team to ever finish a season leading the nation in both 3-pointers per game and 3-point percentage was Princeton in 1987-88, while the only team to ever lead the nation in both field goal percentage and three-point percentage was Northern Arizona 1998-99.
Individually, Doug McDermott is second in points per game (22.9), 34th in field goal percentage (.554), 35th in free-throw percentage (.859), 56th in double-doubles (8) and 118th in rebounds per game (7.8). Grant Gibbs is 11th in assist/turnover ratio (2.8) and 31st in assists per game (5.7). In addition, Gregory Echenique ranks 108th in blocked shots per game (1.59), 127th in double-doubles (5) and 209th in rebounds per game (6.9). Also in the top-100 are Ethan Wragge, who is 108th with 2.3 three-pointers per game, and Austin Chatman who ranks 111th with 4.3 assists per game and 104th with a 1.9 assist/turnover ratio.

Big Road Win
Creighton’s 64-42 win at Nebraska matched its largest victory margin in a true road win since an 82-60 win at Southern Illinois on Feb. 14, 2009.
It was also the largest margin in a non-conference road win since winning at Drexel, 72-48, on Dec. 1, 2007.
Before Dec. 6th, last time Creighton won a true road game by 22+ points vs. a BCS-league team was 12/18/76 at Oregon State (90-68).

Scoring On The Badgers
Creighton scored 84 points on Nov. 23rd against Wisconsin’s vaunted defense that has ranked among the nation’s top-10 in scoring defense in each of the past six seasons.
It was the first time in either of the last two seasons that Wisconsin had allowed 80 points in a game, and the eighth-most allowed in regulation in Bo Ryan’s 12 years as a head coach.

Third-Year Coaches UpdateGreg McDermott was one of 53 head coaches hired to coach a school prior to 2010-11. His 74 wins in that span are easily the most of that group, and McDermott, Tad Boyle (Colorado) and Dana Altman (Oregon) are the only men to win a postseason game each of their first two seasons.
Below is a list of the new coaches with 65 or more wins at their school since being hired.
School Coach W-L Next Game
Creighton Greg McDermott 74-23 2/23
Oregon Dana Altman 66-33 2/21
Iona Tim Cluess 65-32 2/23
Colorado Tad Boyle 65-34 2/21

Austin Powers
After spending last year as a back-up to Antoine Young, sophomore Austin Chatman has taken over as Creighton’s starting point guard. Creighton’s been blessed with a legacy of some of the MVC’s best point guards in the last 15 years, a streak that began with four-year starters Ryan Sears (1997-2001), Tyler McKinney (2001-05) and Josh Dotzler (2005-09) at the point before Young ran the offense while starting the last three years.
Here’s a look at the stats, by year, of the men that Chatman is trying to replace.
Freshman Sophomore
Name PPG APG CU W-L PPG APG CU W-L
Sears 10.5 4.8 18-10 8.7 4.0 22-9
McKinney 4.3 2.1 23-9 5.0 4.1 29-5
Dotzler 6.4 4.2 20-10 2.2 2.0 22-11
Young 4.9 1.4 27-8 7.1 3.1 18-16
Chatman 2.4 1.9 29-6 7.8 4.3 22-6

Quick Starts Key To Playing in Postseason
Creighton has started off 3-0 (or better) in 12 of the previous 14 seasons. Each of Creighton’s previous 13 3-0 starts have been culminated in a postseason tournament appearance at the end of the year.

Not Half BadDoug McDermott outscored Presbyterian 20-17 in the first half in a Nov. 18 win. It was the second-most points McDermott has ever had at halftime, and the fourth-highest half of his career.
McDermott’s highest scoring half of his career has been 31 points, done last year in the second half at Bradley when he scored a career-best 44 points.
McDermott has scored 15 points or more in a half 39 times during his career, and Creighton is 34-2 in those contests (three times he’s scored 15 or more in both halves).
McDermott owns seven halves in his career with 20 or more points, and just six scoreless halves.

Rare AirGregory Echenique had one of the best all-around games of his career on Nov. 14 in the win vs. UAB, finishing with 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots. For good measure, he made 5-of-5 shots from the field and was a perfect 3-for-3 at the line.
Echenique was the first Bluejay with at least 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots in the same game since Benoit Benjamin had 15 points, 17 rebounds and four swats on Feb. 28, 1985 at Dayton.
Echenique was the first Bluejay to have a 13/16/4 game at home since Benjamin had 26 points, 18 rebounds and seven rejections in a win vs. Marquette on Jan. 27, 1985.
Incredibly, Benjamin had nine different games in his junior season with at least 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks before Echenique ended the 27-year drought.

Playing With The Lead
In 169 games at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time, Creighton has not trailed in 41 of those contests, a staggering 24.3 percent of the time, including seven wire-to-wire wins at home last season and five wins (Longwood, Saint Joseph’s, Tulsa, Drake, Southern Illinois) this season.
Creighton has trailed by double-digits in 37 career games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, only to rally to win 22 of those contests.

On The Trail
Creighton won six games last season after trailing by 10 or more points, including wins away from home at San Diego State and at Wichita State, on neutral floors vs. Drake and Alabama, and in home triumphs over Long Beach State and Evansville.
In its Nov. 14 win vs. UAB, Creighton trailed 45-35 in the second stanza, only to rally for a 77-60 win. It was the first time since Feb. 3, 2010 (vs. Evansville) that Creighton trailed by double-digits at any point before rallying to win by double-figures. That UAB game was also the first time in CenturyLink Center Omaha history that Creighton trailed by double-figures in the second half, yet still won by double-digits.
Creighton has two comebacks from 10 or more down this season, having done so vs. UAB (10) and Evansville (16).

Milestone Man
Because he’s split his college career between Rutgers and Creighton, you might not realize the rather impressive college stats being generated by Gregory Echenique.
Echenique owns 1,280 points, 940 rebounds and 249 blocked shots in 132 games as a collegian. He and Bucknell’s Mike Muscala are the nation’s only active players with 1,250 points, 900 rebounds and 240 or more blocked shots.
Had all those stats been generated at Creighton, Echenique would rank 21st in career points, fifth in career rebounds and second in career blocked shots at CU.

I Know What You Did Last Summer
Senior center Gregory Echenique played for coach Eric Musselman on the Venezuelan National Team last summer, alongside the likes of former Maryland star and current Memphis Grizzlies guard Greivis Vasquez.
Echenique averaged 7.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in two games at the FIBA Olympic Qualifier in Caracas in July against Lithuania and Nigeria, where he went head-to-head against NBA players such as Linas Kleiza, Jonas Valanciunas, and Al-Farouq Aminu.

Double-Double OpenerDoug McDermott opened his junior season with 21 points and 11 rebounds on Nov. 9 against North Texas in a 71-51 win.
He was the first Creighton player to have a double-double in a season-opener since Kyle Korver opened his junior campaign with 14 points and 10 rebounds in a 72-51 victory over North Carolina A&T.
Korver would go on to earn MVC Player of the Year accolades as both a junior and as a senior. Last year McDermott was the first player in MVC history named MVC Player of the Year as a sophomore.
Creighton has won either the MVC regular-season title or MVC Tournament each of its previous six seasons it had a player with a double-double in the opener (2001-02, 1999-00, 1998-99, 1990-91, 1989-90, 1988-89).

Preseason MVC Poll
Creighton was picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference in the preseason poll of league coaches, SID’s and media. The Bluejays earned 38-of-40 first-place votes and 398 points overall.
Illinois State was second with 327 points and the remaining two first-place votes, while Northern Iowa was third with 316 points. Wichita State (298) and Evansville (240) rounded out the upper half of the league.
In sixth was Drake (184), while Indiana State (165), Missouri State (122), Bradley (84) and Southern Illinois (66) round out the rest of the league predictions.
Creighton junior Doug McDermott was named preseason MVC Player of the Year. He’s joined on the team by repeat selections Jake Odum (Indiana State) and Colt Ryan (Evansville) as well as new picks Ben Simons (Drake) and Jackie Carmichael (Illinois State).
Creighton’s women were also picked to win the MVC, just the third time in league history the MVC favorites came from the same schools.

Portman To Enter MVC Hall of Fame
Bob Portman will enter the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame on March 8, 2013, during a banquet at the MVC Tournament in St. Louis, Mo.
Portman played for Creighton from 1966-69 and averaged 24.6 points and 12.9 rebounds per game during his college career.
Portman owns the Creighton records for single-game scoring (51), single-season scoring average (29.5) and career scoring average (24.7). He is also second for points in a season (738) and ranks fourth in career points (1,876), rebounds (979), free throws (382) and field goals made (747).

Postseason x 15
Creighton has made the postseason in 15 consecutive seasons, the longest streak of postseason bids in MVC history.
The only eight schools to make the postseason in each of the last 14 years are Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State and Syracuse.

Postseason Win Streak
Thanks to an NCAA Tournament win over Alabama, the Creighton men’s basketball team has now won a postseason game in a school-record five straight seasons. The previous mark was three in a row from 1962-64.
The following eight programs are the only ones that have won a postseason game in five straight seasons, including 2011-12: Creighton, Kansas, Kansas State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Syracuse and Wisconsin.

Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in a league-best 636 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993. That’s the longest active streak in the MVC.

CenturyLink Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 169 regular and postseason contests at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time in its 10 seasons at the facility.
The Bluejays own an 144-25 (.852) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Thursday (7-0) or Friday (6-0).
Creighton has outscored its opponents 12,704-10,709 in games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, an average margin of 11.8 points per game. Creighton has led wire-to-wire 41 different times, including seven times last season and five times this winter (Longwood, Saint Joseph’s, Tulsa, Drake, Southern Illinois).

Piling Up The Points, and Wins
Creighton has won 57 straight games when scoring 90 points or more, dating to Jan. 11, 1988.
Creighton has won 19 straight (at all sites) when scoring 100 points or more, dating to Feb. 26, 1977.

Here’s To History
With the 2012 MVC Tournament title, Creighton head coach Greg McDermott became the first head coach in league history to win a Valley Tournament title at more than one school.
McDermott previously won a title in 2004 at Northern Iowa. The 1988 Northern Iowa grad McDermott also holds the honor of being the first coach in league history to win an MVC Tournament title at his alma mater.

Dance Partners
Only two schools won their league tournament in both men’s and women’s basketball in 2011-12: Creighton and South Dakota State.
This was the fifth time in MVC history that the same school has won the men’s and women’s tournament titles in the same season. Creighton, however, was the first program to do it twice (UNI 2010, Creighton 2002 and 2012, Missouri State 1992, Illinois State 1983).

McDermott A Preseason All-American
Junior forward Doug McDermott became the first player in MVC history to be named a preseason First Team All-American by the Associated Press. The team was announced on October 28th.
McDermott earned acclaim on 62-of-65 ballots, trailing only Indiana’s Cody Zeller. The rest of the team consisted of Isaiah Canaan (Murray State), Deshaun Thomas (Ohio State), Trey Burke (Michigan) and C.J. McCollum (Lehigh).
The preseason All-America team was first announced in 1986-87.

Watch This!
Junior Doug McDermott is on the preseason watch lists for both the Wooden Award and the Naismith Award, two of the top awards in college basketball.
McDermott is the only man who was a finalist for either award to return to school this season.
The Naismith Award is presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club and will be presented on April 7, 2013, in Atlanta.
The Wooden Award is presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club and will handed out the weekend of April 12-13, 2013, in Los Angeles.

Everybody’s All-AmericanDoug McDermott hauled All-America honors on a regular basis last year.
He was named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press, NABC, USBWA, Basketball Times and ESPN.com, and a second-team selection by The Sporting News and CBSSports.com. He was also named to the 10-man John R. Wooden Award All-America team.
Prior to McDermott, the only other player honored by the USBWA with All-America status had been second-team selection Kyle Korver in 2003, and the only prior NABC selections from Creighton had been second-teamer Paul Silas (1964) and third-team selections Benoit Benjamin (1985) and Kyle Korver (2003).
Last year McDermott was named CollegeInsider.com’s Lute Olson National Player of the Year. He was also a finalist for the Naismith and Wooden Award, though Anthony Davis won both awards.

Scoring In NumbersDoug McDermott owned 801 points in 35 games last year, an average of 22.9 per contest that ranked him third nationally in scoring.
McDermott’s 22.9 points per game ranked fourth-most in CU single-season history and were the most since Bob Portman averaged 26.2 points per game in 1968-69.
Portman, who finished fifth nationally in scoring in 1967-68 (29.5 ppg.), was the only previous Bluejay to ever rank in the top-10 of the year-end scoring leaders.
McDermott’s 22.9 points per game made him the first MVC player over 20 points per game since Illinois State’s Tarise Bryson (2000-01) and the most by a MVC player since Northern Iowa’s Randy Blocker (23.0 ppg.) in 1993-94. Bryson had been the only MVC player since 1989 to rank in the top-five nationally in scoring.
No Bluejay had averaged more than 20 points per game since Bob Harstad’s 22.2 average in 1989-90.

Oscar, Bird, DougDoug McDermott set a Creighton (and MVC) record for points by a freshman with 581 in 2010-11. Last season, McDermott had 801 points, the most single-season points in school history by any player.
McDermott’s 1,382 points after two seasons were the most in school history by a player in their first two seasons, passing Bob Portman (1,195). According to STATS Inc., the only other players since 1996-97 with at least 1,382 points or more by the end of their sophomore season had been Davidson’s Stephen Curry (1,661 points from 2006-08), Eastern Washington’s Rodney Stuckey (1,438 points from 2005-07) and VMI’s Keydren Clark (1,497 points from 2002-04).
He became just the third sophomore in MVC history to reach 800 points in a season, trailing only Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird on that list. His 801 points from last year rank 10th-most in MVC single-season history and were the most by any Valley player since 1988.
Below is a list of the most prolific sophomore scorers in MVC history, as well as the top single-season scorers in Creighton history (all classes):
Top Scorers, MVC History (All Years)
Pts. Name, School Years
1125 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1987-88
1011 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1959-60
984 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1957-58
978 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1958-59
973 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1978-79
959 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1977-78
918 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1976-77
844 Xavier McDaniel, Wichita State 1984-85
815 Lewis Lloyd, Drake 1979-80
801 Doug McDermott, Creighton 2011-12
788 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1986-87
788 Willie Biles, Tulsa 1972-73

Familiar Fives
Creighton utilized the same starting line-up all season long in 2011-12, as Gregory Echenique, Doug McDermott, Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat and Antoine Young started all 35 games.
According to STATS Inc., the only schools with the same starting five every game were Creighton, Missouri, Nevada, Wisconsin and Youngstown State.
Of those five schools above, the only team to use the same starting five for every game in 2012-13 is Creighton.

Last Season Recap
Creighton went 29-6 and reached the third round of the MVC Tournament last season. Creighton started the year 7-0 to move into the Associated Press top-25, a spot they would hold for 12 of the final 15 weeks.Doug McDermott ranked third nationally in scoring (22.9), scoring a school-record 801 points. He became the first sophomore named MVC Player of the Year and was a consensus First Team All-American.
Point guard Antoine Young (12.1 ppg., 4.5 apg.) was a second-team all-Valley pick, while center Gregory Echenique (9.7 ppg., 7.3 rpg., 1.6 bpg.) was named MVC Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, Grant Gibbs was runner-up for MVC Newcomer of the Year accolades after dishing a league-high 176 assists.
The Jays ranked second nationally in field goal percentage (.504), third in three-point percentage (.424), fifth in assists (17.6), sixth in home attendance (16,665) and ninth in scoring offense (79.2).
Creighton finished the regular-season second in the MVC before winning its league-record 11th Valley Tournament title to clinch an NCAA bid. At the NCAA’s, Creighton topped Alabama 58-57 before falling to No. 4 North Carolina.

Creighton Will Host in 2015, Again
The NCAA announced on Nov. 12, 2012, that Creighton will serve as the host institution on March 20/22, 2015, when the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament returns to CenturyLink Center Omaha for second/third-round games.
This will be the third time in a seven-year span the arena has hosted, having previously done so in 2008 and 2012 to much acclaim.
CenturyLink Center Omaha has previously hosted NCAA finals for women’s volleyball (2006, 2008) and wrestling (2010), as well as the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Swimming (2008, 2012). This January, it will host the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2012-13 season went on sale on October 29th at 10 am.
Fans can purchase single-game tickets at CenturyLink Center Omaha Box Office, Ryan Athletic Center, all Ticketmaster locations (Baker’s, Younkers), Ticketmaster online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster and charging by phone at (800) 745-3000. Only upper bowl seats will be available for any game and cost is $12 for adults and $8 for youth ages 3-18 (children two and under are free). For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.

Shuttle Service Provided Again
Chief Bus will provide complimentary shuttle service from the Creighton University campus to CenturyLink Center Omaha for all men’s basketball home games this season. The service is available to all fans, not just Creighton students.
The shuttle will start 75 minutes before tip-off and shuttles will continue to operate the route during the game. The three designated stops for pick-up around the CU campus are: 24th & California (nearside/southbound); 20th & Cass (nearside/eastbound) and at Billy Blues Alumni Grill (outside the Mike & Josie Harper Center in the turnaround which is on the east side of the building).
The shuttle will then go eastbound on Capitol Avenue and then go north up 10th Street for drop-off at the CenturyLink Center Omaha convention center entrance. The route is designed for each shuttle driver to make a roundtrip every 15 minutes.
Following the game’s conclusion, the shuttle will start at the CenturyLink Center Omaha convention center entrance on 10th Street and loop the original route with the first of three stops at 24th & California Streets.